introducing visual c 2010

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Introducing Visual C# 2010

  

Adam Freeman

Introducing Visual C# 2010

Copyright © 2010 by Adam Freeman

All rights reserved No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher

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President and Publisher: Paul Manning

Lead Editor: Ewan Buckingham

Technical Reviewer: Damien Foggon

Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Mark Beckner, Ewan Buckingham, Gary Cornell, Jonathan Gennick, Jonathan Hassell, Michelle Lowman, Matthew Moodie, Duncan Parkes, Jeffrey Pepper, Frank Pohlmann, Douglas Pundick, Ben Renow-Clarke, Dominic Shakeshaft, Matt Wade, Tom Welsh Coordinating Editor: Anne Collett and Kelly Moritz

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Contents at a Glance

 About the Author xxxii

 About the Technical Reviewer xxxiii

 Acknowledgments xxxiv

PART 1    Getting Started 1

 Chapter 1: Introduction 3

 Chapter 2: Getting Ready 7

 Chapter 3: Understanding C# and the NET Framework 17

PART 2    The C# Language 31

 Chapter 4: C# Fundamentals and Keyword Reference 33

 Chapter 5: Numeric and Boolean Types 91

 Chapter 6: Classes and Objects 131

 Chapter 7: Fields 183

 Chapter 8: Properties, Indexers, and Operators 203

 Chapter 9: Methods 229

 Chapter 10: Delegates, Events, and Anonymous Methods 305

 Chapter 11: Namespaces 337

 Chapter 12: Interfaces, Structs, and Enums 355

 Chapter 13: Arrays 385

 Chapter 14: Exceptions 419

 Chapter 15: Generic and Anonymous Types 453

 Chapter 16: Strings and Characters 481

 CONTENTS AT A GLANCE

 Chapter 17: Attributes 519

 Chapter 18: Garbage Collection 539

PART 3    The NET Class Library 549

 Chapter 19: Collections 551

 Chapter 20: Files, Streams, and IO 621

 Chapter 21: Networking & WCF 675

 Chapter 22: Time & Dates 711

 Chapter 23: Serialization 735

 Chapter 24: Serialization 735

 Chapter 25: Asynchronous Methods and Parallel Loops 815

 Chapter 26: Other Useful Features and Classes 833

PART 4    Data and Databases 861

 Chapter 27: LINQ to Objects 863

 Chapter 28: Parallel LINQ 915

 Chapter 29: LINQ to XML 925

 Chapter 30: LINQ to Entities 965

 Chapter 31: LINQ to DataSet 1001

PART 5    User Interfaces 1031

 Chapter 32: Windows Forms 1033

 Chapter 33: Windows Presentation Foundation 1069

 Chapter 34: ASP.NET 1099

 Chapter 35: Silverlight 1125

PART 6    Advanced Topics 1159

 Chapter 36: Windows Integration 1161

 Chapter 37: Cryptography and Security 1185

 Chapter 38: Testing and Debugging 1201

 Index 1231

Contents

 About the Authors xxxii

 About the Technical Reviewers xxxiii

 Acknowledgments xxxiv

PART 1    Getting Started 1

 Chapter 1: Introduction 3

Who Should Read This Book? 3

What Is Covered in This Book? 3

What Do You Need to Read This Book? 4

What Is the Structure of This Book? 4

What Is in Each Chapter? 4

Getting the Example Code 5

Finding More Information 6

The MSDN C# Programming Guide 6

Online Forums 6

Other Books 6

Summary 6

 Chapter 2: Getting Ready 7

Installing the Software 7

Installing Visual Studio 2010 7

Installing SQL Server 2008 9

Installing the Silverlight Tools 10

Downloading the Sample Code and Data 10

 CONTENTS

Creating Your First C# Project 10

Creating the Project 11

Editing the Code 13

Compiling and Running the Program 14

Features That I Use Before Explaining Them 14

The using statements 14

The namespace statement 15

The class statement 15

The Main method 15

The Code Comments 16

The Console.WriteLine and Console.ReadLine methods 16

Summary 16

 Chapter 3: Understanding C# and the NET Framework 17

C# and the NET Framework at a Glance 17

Introducing C# 17

Introducing the NET Framework 18

The Relationship between C# and the NET Framework 19

Understanding Assemblies 20

The Key Features of C# and the NET Framework 22

Understanding Object-Orientation 22

Understanding Type Safety 22

Understanding Automatic Memory Management 23

Understanding the Just-In-Time Compiler 23

Understanding Parallel Processing 23

Understanding Unmanaged/Native Code Support 24

Understanding the NET Technology Spectrum 24

Understanding NET Cross-Platform Support 29

Summary 30

PART 2    The C# Language 31

 Chapter 4: C# Fundamentals and Keyword Reference 33

Language Fundamentals 33

A Simple C# Program 33

C# Syntax 34

Types 41

Common Programming Tasks 46

Assigning Values 46

Making Comparisons 47

Performing Selections 49

Iterating Data Items 53

Keyword and Operator Reference 60

Type Keywords 61

Modifiers 69

Selection Keywords 75

Iterator Keywords 75

Jump Keywords 76

Exception Handling Keywords 77

Arithmetic Overflow Keywords 78

Synchronization Keywords 79

Parameter Keywords 79

Namespace Keywords 81

Literal Keywords 82

Object Keywords 83

LINQ Keywords 84

Other Keywords 84

Operators 87

Summary 89

 CONTENTS

 Chapter 5: Numeric and Boolean Types 91

Numeric Types 92

Using Numeric Literals 93

Implicit and Explicit Numeric Type Conversions 98

Using Overflow Checking 101

Using Struct Members 103

Using Numeric Operators 109

Arithmetic Operators 109

Unary Operators 113

Relational Operators 116

Logical Operators 118

Assignment Operators 122

Working with Very Large Integer Values 126

The Boolean Type 127

Using Boolean Literals 127

Using Boolean Results 128

Using Struct Members 129

Summary 130

 Chapter 6: Classes and Objects 131

Creating a Basic Class 132

Adding Features to a Class 133

Creating Objects from Classes 136

Using Objects 139

Class Inheritance 150

Understanding Inheritance 153

Understanding Encapsulation 159

Understanding Polymorphism 160

Casting Objects and Type Checking 165

Implicit vs Explicit Casting 165

Type Conversion Exceptions 169

Avoiding Explicit Cast Exceptions 170

Boxing and Unboxing 173

Using Nested Classes 175

Using Class Modifiers 176

Creating Static Classes 176

Creating Abstract Classes 178

Creating Sealed Classes 179

Creating Partial Classes 179

Using Access Modifiers 180

Summary 181

 Chapter 7: Fields 183

Defining and Using Fields 184

Defining Fields 184

Initializing Fields 184

Reading and Updating Fields 186

The Fourth Stage of the Life Cycle 193

Applying Field Modifiers 193

Creating Static Fields 194

Creating Read-Only Fields 196

Applying Access Modifiers 199

Hiding Base Class Fields 199

Using the volatile Keyword 201

Summary 201

 CONTENTS

 Chapter 8: Properties, Indexers, and Operators 203

Creating a Property 204

Creating a Field-Backed Property 204

Using a Property 207

Creating an Automatically Implemented Property 208

Creating an Asymmetric Property 209

Creating a Computed Property 209

Mapping a Property Type to a Field Type 210

Using Access Modifiers 210

Using Other Modifiers 211

Creating an Indexer 215

Using Multiple Indexers 216

Creating a Validating Indexer 217

Creating an Indexer with Multiple Arguments 218

Creating Custom Operators 219

Creating Custom Unary Operators 219

Creating Custom Binary Operators 221

Creating Custom Conversion Operators 225

Summary 227

 Chapter 9: Methods 229

Creating and Using a Simple Method 231

Defining the Method Name 232

Defining the Result Type 232

Defining the Parameters 233

Defining the Modifiers 234

Defining the Method Body 237

Using the Methods 238

Understanding Parameters 239

Using Value Parameters 239

Using Reference Parameters 243

Using Output Parameters 245

Using Parameter Arrays 247

Using Optional Parameters 249

Using Named Parameters 250

Understanding Method Bodies 251

Using Local Variables 251

Using Method Results 256

Understanding Method Modifiers 257

Using Access Modifiers 257

Creating Static Methods 257

Creating Virtual Methods 258

Creating Sealed Methods 258

Creating Abstract Methods 259

Overloading Methods 259

Hiding and Overriding Methods 262

Hiding Methods 263

Overriding Methods 265

Sealing Methods 267

Understanding Method Specialization 268

Special Methods 269

The Main Method 269

Constructors 272

Destructors 290

Iterator Blocks 291

Partial Methods 296

Abstract Methods 299

 CONTENTS

Extension Methods 301

Summary 304

 Chapter 10: Delegates, Events, and Anonymous Methods 305

Using Delegates 306

Using Delegates for Callbacks 308

Multicasting with Delegates 310

Delegating Selectively 312

Interrogating Delegates 313

Using Events 315

Defining and Publishing EventHandler Pattern Events 317

Creating Nongeneric Events 322

Creating Events Without Custom Data 323

Applying Modifiers to Events 325

Using Action and Func Delegates 326

Using Action Delegates 326

Using Func Delegates 328

Anonymous Methods 329

Capturing Outer Variables 331

Lambda Expressions 334

Summary 336

 Chapter 11: Namespaces 337

Consuming Namespaces 337

Using Fully Qualified Names 338

Importing Namespaces 339

Creating Namespaces 340

Nesting Namespaces 342

Logically Nesting Namespaces 343

Spreading Namespaces Across Files 344

Adding Types to Existing Namespaces 346

Disambiguating Namespaces and Types 347

Disambiguation with Fully Qualified Names 349

Disambiguating with Aliases 349

Aliasing Namespaces 350

Resolving Type or Namespace Hiding 351

Summary 353

 Chapter 12: Interfaces, Structs, and Enums 355

Using Interfaces 356

Defining and Using a Simple Interface 356

Specifying Interface Members 358

Deriving Interfaces 362

Defining a Partial Interface 365

Implementing Interfaces 365

Using Structs 371

Defining and Instantiating a Struct 371

Differences Between Structs and Classes 374

Copying a Struct 376

Using an Enum 380

Defining an Enum 380

Using an Enum 381

Using Underlying Types and Numeric Values 382

Combining Enum Values 383

Summary 384

 Chapter 13: Arrays 385

Defining and Initializing Arrays 387

Getting and Setting Array Values 389

Using Array Initializers 391

 CONTENTS

Enumerating Arrays 393

Enumerating with a for Loop 393

Enumerating with a foreach Loop 395

Enumerating Using IEnumerator and IEnumerator<T> 396

Breaking from Enumerations 398

Using System.Array Members 400

Sorting Arrays 400

Processing All of the Elements in an Array 401

Resizing and Copying an Array 402

Finding Items in an Array 406

Using Arrays with LINQ 408

Using Arrays as Collections 409

Using Multidimensional Arrays 409

Using Rectangular Arrays 410

Using Jagged Arrays 415

Summary 418

 Chapter 14: Exceptions 419

Handling Exceptions 420

Using try Statements and catch Clauses 421

Handling Different Exception Types 424

Nesting try Statements 427

Using Exception Members 427

Using finally Clauses 430

Throwing Exceptions 432

Rethrowing Exceptions 436

Creating and Throwing Custom Exceptions 438

Throwing Meaningful Exceptions 441

Summary 451

 Chapter 15: Generic and Anonymous Types 453

Using Generic Types 454

Defining a Generic Class 456

Creating Objects from Generic Classes 456

Implementing and Using Generic Class Members 457

Defining Multiple Parameter Types 460

Casting from Parameterized Types 461

Constraining Parameterized Types 462

Defining a Method-Specific Parameterized Type 465

Deriving from a Generic Base Class 467

Creating Generic Interfaces 471

Creating Generic Structs 472

Type Variance 472

Using the default Keyword 477

Using Anonymous Types 478

Summary 480

 Chapter 16: Strings and Characters 481

Working with Characters 482

Expressing Characters Using Literals 482

Performing Operations on Characters 483

Using Struct Members 484

Using Strings 486

Expressing Strings Using String Literals 486

Performing Operations on Strings 488

Using Regular Expressions 495

Using Class Members 496

 CONTENTS

Using the StringBuilder Class 502

Creating a StringBuilder Object 502

Using a StringBuilder Object 502

Formatting Strings 507

Using Composite Formatting 507

Formatting Types 511

Creating String Representations of Custom Types 514

Performing Custom Composite Formatting 516

Summary 518

 Chapter 17: Attributes 519

Using Attributes 519

Applying Attributes with Parameters 521

Testing for an Attribute 522

Testing for an Attribute Applied to a Class 522

Testing for an Attribute Applied to a Field 525

Testing for an Attribute Applied to a Property 528

Testing for an Attribute Applied to a Method 530

Creating a Custom Attribute 532

Using a Custom Attribute 533

Defining Properties in a Custom Attribute 535

Controlling How a Custom Attribute Can Be Used 535

Controlling Attribute Inheritance 537

Summary 538

 Chapter 18: Garbage Collection 539

Explicitly Running the Garbage Collector 540

Implementing a Destructor 541

Destructors vs Finalizers 542

Problems with Destructors 543

Using Disposal 544

Using Weak References 546

Summary 547

PART 3    The NET Class Library 549

 Chapter 19: Collections 551

The ICollection<T> Interface 553

Generic Lists 554

The IList<T> Interface 555

The List<T> Collection 556

The LinkedList<T> Collection 575

The SortedList<TKey, TVal> Collection 581

Generic Dictionaries 585

The IDictionary<TKey, TVal> Interface 586

The KeyValuePair<TKey, TVal> Structure 588

The Dictionary<TKey, TVal> Collection 589

The SortedDictionary<TKey, TVal> Collection 593

Generic Sets 595

The ISet<T> Interface 595

The HashSet<T> Collection 597

The SortedSet<T> Collection 599

Generic Queues and Stacks 602

The Queue<T> Collection 602

The Stack<T> Collection 604

Other Generic Collection Interfaces 606

The IComparer<T> Interface 606

The IEqualityComparer<T> Interface 608

Treating Arrays as Collections 609

 CONTENTS

Creating Constrained Collections 613

Read-Only Lists 613

Other Read-Only Collections 614

Legacy Collections 617

Summary 619

 Chapter 20: Files, Streams, and IO 621

Working with Files and Directories 622

Using the System.IO.Directory Class 622

Using the FileInfo and DirectoryInfo Classes 630

Using the System.IO.File Class 639

Using the System.IO.Path Class 643

Monitoring for Changes 645

Working with Streams, Readers, and Writers 650

Using Streams 650

Using Readers and Writers 666

Summary 673

 Chapter 21: Networking & WCF 675

Requesting Data 675

Using WebClient Members to Configure a Request 677

Using WebClient Members to Retrieve Data 679

Using WebClient Events 682

Programming with Sockets 684

Creating a Simple TCP Client & Server 684

Writing a Parallel Server 691

The Windows Communication Foundation 693

Creating the WCF Server 694

Creating the WCF Client 697

Other Useful Network Classes 700

Writing a Simple Web Server 700

Using Connectionless Networking 704

Using the Domain Name System 707

Summary 709

 Chapter 22: Time & Dates 711

Measuring Small Amounts of Time 712

Working with Periods of Time 715

Creating and Using TimeSpan Values 715

Performing Operations on TimeSpan Values 719

Formatting TimeSpan Strings 720

Working with Particular Dates and Times 723

Creating and Using DateTime Values 724

Performing Operations on DateTime Values 727

Formatting DateTime Strings 730

Summary 733

 Chapter 23: Serialization 735

Using Binary Serialization 736

Serializing Graphs of Objects 739

Serializing Multiple Objects to a Single Stream 741

Selectively Serializing Fields 744

Using Serialization Callbacks 745

Version Tolerance 748

Using SOAP Serialization 752

Version Tolerance 754

Serializing Generic Objects 755

Using XML Serialization 755

Selectively Serializing Fields 757

 CONTENTS

Mapping Members to Elements and Attributes 758

Changing the Name for Attributes and Elements 759

Using Data Contract Serialization 760

Preparing a Class for Data Contract Serialization 760

Generating Portable XML 761

Generating NET-specific XML 762

Generating JSON 764

Summary 765

 Chapter 24: Serialization 735

Understanding Single- and Multi-Threaded Execution 768

Getting Started with Tasks 772

Creating a Task 772

Starting a Task 773

Waiting for a Task 774

Getting Results from Tasks 776

Passing Parameters to a Task 778

Getting the Status of a Task 780

Using the Status Properties 782

Canceling Tasks 782

Checking and Throwing in a Single Statement 784

Cancelling Multiple Tasks 786

Handling Task Exceptions 787

Handling an Exception in a Task Body 787

Handling an Exception from a Trigger Method 789

Dealing with Exceptions using Task Properties 792

Using a Custom Exception Escalation Policy 794

Chaining Tasks Together 796

Creating a Simple Continuation 796

Getting Details of the Antecedent 797 Providing a Continuation Result 798 Creating Chains of Continuations 800 Creating Selective Continuations 801

Sharing Data between Tasks 803

Understanding a Critical Region 806 Creating a Critical Region 806 Avoiding Synchronization 808

Using Concurrent Collections 809 Summary 813

 Chapter 25: Asynchronous Methods and Parallel Loops 815

Using Asynchronous Methods 816

Using Pre-Built Asynchronous Methods 816 Asynchronously Calling Any Method 819 Waiting for an Asynchronous Method to Complete 820 Mixing Asynchronous Methods and Tasks 823

Using Parallel Loops 824

Creating a Parallel ForEach Loop 824 Creating a Parallel For Loop 826 Breaking and Stopping Parallel Loops 827

Summary 831

 Chapter 26: Other Useful Features and Classes 833

Converting Between Types 834 Returning Multiple Results from Methods Using Tuples 836 Aliasing Generic Types 839 Using Nullable Types 841

Using the Null-Coalescing Operator 842

 CONTENTS

Working with the Console 843

Reading from and Writing to the Console 843 Making the Console Beep 846 Modifying the Appearance of the Console 846

Generating Random Numbers 848 Converting Strings to and from Bytes 849 Getting Environment Information 850 Performing Math Operations 852 Using Conditional Compilation 853

Using Visual Studio to Define Symbols 855 Conditionally Compiling Methods 856

Checking Network Connectivity 857

Listening for Connectivity Changes 859

Summary 860

PART 4    Data and Databases 861

 Chapter 27: LINQ to Objects 863

Performing a Simple LINQ Query 864

Understanding LINQ to Objects Data Sources 866 Understanding Query Results 867 Understanding Query Types 870

Performing LINQ Operations 874

Filtering Data 874 Projecting Data 876 Ordering Data 881 Grouping Data 885

Using Method Syntax 891 Understanding Deferred Execution 895

Reusing Queries 895

Referring to Variables 896 Forcing Immediate Execution 897

Converting Query Results 899 Using Legacy Collections as LINQ Data Sources 902

Explicitly Specifying the Range Variable Type 902 Using Cast and OfType Extension Methods 903

Performing Advanced LINQ Operations 905

Aggregating Data 905 Joining Data 907 Creating Combinations of Data 910 Creating Additional Range Variables 911

Summary 913

 Chapter 28: Parallel LINQ 915

Performing a Parallel LINQ Query 915 Understanding PLINQ Result Ordering 918

Preserving Order in a PLINQ query 920

Forcing Parallel Execution 921 Performing Queries without Results 922 Summary 923

 Chapter 29: LINQ to XML 925

Using the LINQ XML Classes 926

Creating XML Declaratively 926 Populating an XElement or XDocument with an IEnumerable 933 Reading and Writing XML Files 934 Processing XML Declaratively 936 Modifying XML 940

Using LINQ to XML Queries 944

Querying XML for Data 945

 CONTENTS

Creating XML from LINQ Queries 946 Create Objects from XML 949 Modifying and Transforming XML Data 950 Sorting XML 957 Grouping XML 958 Using Parallel LINQ to Process XML 960

Using LINQ to Entities 973

Using the Data Model Context 974 Using Table Properties and Row Objects 975 Understanding the IQueryable<T> Interface 977 Enumerating the Results 978

Navigating Using Foreign Key Relationships 979

Querying Using Navigation Properties 982 Using Navigation Data Efficiently 983

Performing Common Database Operations 985

Querying Data 985 Inserting Data into the Database 993 Updating Data in the Database 996 Deleting Data 998

Enabling Concurrency Checking 999 Summary 1000

 Chapter 31: LINQ to DataSet 1001

Connecting to and Querying a Database 1002

Setting Up the Database 1002 Creating a Connection to the Database 1004 Executing a SQL Query 1010

Understanding the DataSet Class 1012

Enumerating Results with DataTable and DataRow Objects 1014

Querying DataSets with LINQ 1016

Perform Joins on a DataSet 1018 Comparing Data 1021

Performing Database Operations Using Cached Data 1024

Inserting Data 1024 Modifying Data 1027 Deleting Data 1029

Summary 1030

PART 5    User Interfaces 1031

 Chapter 32: Windows Forms 1033

Building a Stand-Alone Window Forms Program 1033

Creating the Project 1034 Adding the Controls 1036 Setting the Control Properties 1038 Adding the MenuStrip and StatusStrip 1041 Setting the Control Names 1043 Setting the Tab Order 1045 Wiring the Controls 1045 Setting the Icon 1053 Testing the Program 1053

Using Windows Forms Data Binding 1053

Creating the Project and Creating the Data Model 1053 Creating and Using the Object Data Source 1054

 CONTENTS

Formatting the Grid Control 1056 Loading the Data 1058 Wiring the Save Button 1058 Testing the Program 1059 Two Program Variations 1060

Windows 7 UI Integration 1063

Using Aero Glass 1063

Summary 1066

 Chapter 33: Windows Presentation Foundation 1069

Building a Stand-Alone WPF Program 1069

Creating the Project 1069 Adding the Controls 1072 Setting the Control Properties 1074 Adding the StatusBar Item 1076 Adding the Menu Item 1077 Setting the Tab Order 1077 Wiring the Controls 1078 Managing the Focus 1081 Setting the Program Icon and Window Name 1082 Testing the Program 1082

Using WPF Data Binding 1083

Formatting the DataGrid Control 1084 Loading the Data 1085 Wiring the Button 1085 Testing the Program 1086

Using WPF-Specific Features 1086

Using WPF Animations 1086 Using WPF Commands 1090

Summary 1098

 Chapter 34: ASP.NET 1099

Building a Web Forms Program 1099

Creating the Project 1099 Adding the Controls 1102 Setting the Control Properties 1104 Setting the Tab Order 1106 Wiring the Button Control 1107 Setting the Focus 1107 Testing the Program 1108

Using Web Forms Data Binding 1108

Create the Project and the Entity Data Model 1109 Adding the Web Form 1109 Creating the Web Forms Data Source 1109 Adding the GridView Control 1111 Testing the Program 1112

Using ASP.NET Dynamic Data 1113

Creating the Project 1113 Creating the Entity Data Model 1114 Registering the Data Model 1114 Testing the Program 1114 Customizing a Dynamic Data Application 1116

Summary 1124

 Chapter 35: Silverlight 1125

Creating the Swimming Calculator 1126

Creating the Project 1126 Defining the Layout 1128 Adding the TextBox Controls 1131

 CONTENTS

Adding the Label Controls 1132 Adding the TextBlock Control 1133 Adding the Button Control 1134 Adjusting the Layout 1135 Wiring the Button 1136 Adding a Child Window 1137

Using a WCF RIA Service 1140

Creating the Project 1141 Creating the Data Model 1141 Creating the Domain Service Class 1142 Creating the Silverlight Client 1144 Testing the Application 1149

Using Silverlight Out-of-Browser Support 1149

Configuring the Out-of-Browser Support 1150

Using a Silverlight Program Out-of-Browser 1152

Making Installation Part of the Interface 1153 Using Other Out-of-Browser Features 1157

Summary 1157

PART 6    Advanced Topics 1159

 Chapter 36: Windows Integration 1161

Using the Windows Event Log 1161

Reading an Event Log 1162 Writing to an Event Log 1165

Using Elevated Privileges 1167 Creating a Windows Service 1169

Creating the Service Class 1170 Adding the Service Functionality 1172 Adding the Service Installer 1174

Add the MSI Installer 1175 Installing the Service 1177 Creating the Client 1179

Using the Windows Registry 1179

Searching the Registry 1179 Reading and Modifying the Registry 1182

Summary 1183

 Chapter 37: Cryptography and Security 1185

Encrypting and Decrypting Data 1186

Creating and Using Encryption Keys 1186 Encrypting Data 1189 Decrypting Data 1190 Using the Windows Data Protection API 1191

Using Hash Codes 1193

Generating a Hash Code 1194 Verifying a Hash Code 1196

Generating Secure Random Numbers 1197 Working Securely with Strings 1198 Summary 1200

 Chapter 38: Testing and Debugging 1201

Using the Debug and Trace Classes 1202

Using the Debug Class 1202 Using the Trace Class 1212

Using Static Code Analysis 1214

Selecting the Code Analysis Rules 1214 Performing Static Analysis 1215 Dealing with a Rule Violation 1216

 CONTENTS

Using Code Contracts 1221

Installing and Enabling Code Contract Support 1221 Writing Code Contracts 1222 Using the Static Checker 1226 Using the Runtime Checker 1229

Summary 1230

 Index 1231

 Adam Freeman is an experienced IT professional who has held senior

positions in a range of companies, most recently as chief technology officer and chief operating officer of a global bank Now retired, he spends his time writing and training for his first competitive triathlon This is his tenth book on programming and his eighth on NET

About the Technical Reviewer

 Damien Foggon is a developer, writer, and technical reviewer in cutting-edge technologies and has

contributed to more than 50 books on NET, C#, Visual Basic and ASP.NET He is the co-founder of the

Newcastle based user-group NEBytes (online at http://www.nebytes.net), is a multiple MCPD in NET 2.0 and NET 3.5 and can be found online at http://blog.littlepond.co.uk

  

Introduction

I started programming in C# when version 1.0 was the current release and NET was being billed as a

Java-killer In fact, the first C# book that I wrote was a guide to the language for Java programmers

It’s seven years later, and C# hasn’t killed Java, but it has established itself as one of the most useful and expressive programming languages in use today—and one of the most widely used C# has

developed its own identity, and each new version of the language has further reinforced that identity

The current version of C#/.NET, version 4, is mature, complete, flexible, and feature rich The

development tools are good, the integration with Windows is excellent, and there is a thriving

community of developers providing enhancements and add-on libraries

I like programming in C#, and I hope you will come to like it too I am not a language evangelist; I

believe that the best language to solve a problem is usually the one that you already know But I find

myself turning to C# more and more I find the development tools to be solid and flexible, I like the

integration with Windows, and there are, for me, two killer features The first is the excellent parallel

programming features that let a program do more than one thing at a time (these features are discussed

in Chapter 24 of this book) The second is the indescribably brilliant data-processing LINQ feature

(covered in Chapters 27–31)

In this book, I will take you on a tour through C#, starting with the language itself, and then onto the rich APIs that are included with the NET Framework My main tool of instruction will be code—lots and lots of code I don’t discuss the abstractions of object-oriented programming, for example I explain it

through code samples and illustrations so that you know how it affects your programming and how to

get the best results As we go from chapter to chapter, you’ll learn everything you need to know in order

to write effective C# programs to solve the problems that you will face most often

Who Should Read This Book?

This book was written for programmers who have no experience with C# and/or little to no experience with object-oriented programming I have tried to explain every term and concept as it arises, but this is

a book that teaches C# programming, rather than programming in general

What Is Covered in This Book?

This book covers the C# language and the major NET APIs and features In each chapter you will find an explanation of what a feature is for and what it does, as well as all the information you need to get started using that feature effectively There are lots of code examples, and each technique is carefully explained There is only so much content that you can fit into a book, and so, since this is an introduction to

C#, I have focused on the features that are most commonly used and are the easiest to use As C# has

evolved, duplicate features have emerged There are several different APIs available for processing XML

CHAPTER 1  INTRODUCTION

data, for example In these cases, I have included the most recent or most widely used and have omitted the others As a new C# programmer, you don’t need to know the historic value of this API or that language feature; at this stage, you just need to know how to get something done quickly, cleanly, and effectively Once you have the basics of C# and an understanding of the current features, you can use this knowledge to work on legacy code if the need arises

What Do You Need to Read This Book?

You could just sit and read this book, but to get the most benefit, you should be able to follow along with the examples on your own computer, which means that you will need a Windows computer Aside from Windows, basic versions of all the software you will need are available from Microsoft free of charge Chapter 2 tells you what you need, explains where to get it from, and shows you how to install it and get

it ready for use

What Is the Structure of This Book?

There are five parts to this book The first part helps you get ready to use C# and to understand the building blocks of the NET Framework At the end of these chapters, you will have all the software you need installed and configured and be able to tell an assembly from a code file

Part II introduces the C# language and object-oriented programming You will learn how C#

represents different kinds of data and how to create and use your own representations C# includes some built-in data types that you will use in every program that you write, and these are covered in depth At the end of these chapters, you will be able to write C# programs that can do useful, but basic, things

Part III introduces some of the major APIs This is where the complexity and utility of the programs you will be able to write really starts to take off You will learn how to write network programs, deal with sets of data in useful ways, work with files, make your data persistent, and even how to use the C# parallel programming features At the end of these chapters, you’ll start to have some serious C# chops and be able to take on most programming problems using C#

Part IV focuses on data and databases, which have some excellent support in C# Most of the chapters in this part of the book relate to a feature called Language Integrated Query (LINQ) By the end

of these chapters, you will be able to query and modify object data, XML data, and SQL data

Part V covers the different feature sets that support user interfaces, which range from traditional Windows client applications to web UIs C# has some great features for UI design and implementation, and you may be surprised how simple it can be to get some great results with very little effort

Part VI describes some more advanced topics You can skip these chapters and still end up with a great grasp of C# and be able to write useful and elegant programs But at some point, you’ll face a problem that can be solved only by using one of these advanced features, so I have included this information for when that happens

What Is in Each Chapter?

The format differs slightly from chapter to chapter to best suit the topic at hand, but there are some things that are common to most of them There are a lot of code listings in every chapter, so I have included a summary table at the start of each one to make it easier when you are looking for something specific Table 1-1 shows part of the table from Chapter 6

CHAPTER 1  INTRODUCTION

Getting the Example Code

All the code samples are available for download from http://apress.com/book/sourcecode Each codeexample is self-contained I am not a fan of building a program up over several chapters, preferring todemonstrate just the feature being described This means that some of the examples I present arearbitrary in nature, but each one can be compiled and used on its own, and you can see exactly how touse the feature being discussed

Finding More Information

By the time you have finished reading this book, you’ll know everything you need to be an effective C#programmer—how to use the language and how to use the major API features, such as networking, dataaccess, and user interfaces, and so on But there is always more to learn, especially in a language with therich library support that C# enjoys When you are looking for more advanced information, I recommendthe following sources

The MSDN C# Programming Guide

The MSDN Library includes a useful tour of different C# features; the authors assume you are already familiarwith C#, so it is not comprehensive in coverage, but it can be helpful if you want just a little more depth than Iprovide in this book You can find the guide at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library

Online Forums

Numerous web sites discuss C# and NET The one that seems to have the most knowledgeable

participants and the lowest amount of useless noise is http://stackoverflow.com This site is not specific

to C#, but there is a very active C# community, and when you get stuck, chances are that someone hashad the same problem and has asked for help

Other Books

Introductory books—like this one—aim for breadth of coverage, introducing you to as many features aspossible to get you up and running quickly At key points in this book, I suggest other books that are entirelydedicated to a topic that I have covered in a single chapter The information I give you will get you going for 90percent of the problems you will face, but you’ll need to dig further into the detail for the other 10 percent.Some of the books I suggest are my own, and many of them are published by Apress, but all of them providegood in-depth detail to help you build your expertise in a specific language feature

Summary

It should be clear that I am enthusiastic about C# I think it is a super language that can be used to greateffect It is my hope that as you read through this book you will not only learn how to program in C# butalso gain your own enthusiasm There is a lot to like about C#, and our journey through the language andits features begins here

  

Getting Ready

You need to prepare yourselves before you can start to learn C# In this chapter, you’ll install the

development tools you need: Visual Studio 2010 and SQL Server, both of which are available as paid-for and free editions You will use Visual Studio 2010 throughout this book and SQL Server in Parts IV and V

of this book when you look at data and databases and user interfaces You’ll also install the latest version

of the Silverlight tools, which you’ll need for Chapter 35

Once the tools are installed, I’ll show you how to create the traditional Hello World application to

demonstrate how to create, compile, and execute a simple project with Visual Studio

Installing the Software

Before you can start exploring C# and the NET Framework, you need to get set up You’ll need a PC

running Windows—and it needs to be Windows 7 if you want to follow some of the Windows integration examples in Chapter 36 However, for the other chapters, older versions of Windows will be fine

Installing Visual Studio 2010

The most important tool you will need is Visual Studio 2010, Microsoft’s development environment for the NET Framework There are different editions of Visual Studio: Professional, Premium, and Ultimate The Ultimate edition is the most comprehensive with all sorts of bells and whistles It also has a

significant price tag; at the time of writing, the Ultimate edition costs over $10,000 In all fairness to

Microsoft, very few people will end up paying that price because of discount schemes, but nonetheless Visual Studio can be an expensive tool

Don’t worry if your budget doesn’t stretch to a high sticker price; you can get everything you need for this book for free Microsoft’s entry level development tool is Visual Studio 2010 Express and is

available without charge from microsoft.com/express The Express editions lack some of the

convenience features, but are still very capable There are several editions available; for most of this

book, you’ll need the Visual C# 2010 Express edition, and for the ASP.NET section, you will need the

Visual Web Developer 2010 edition